Tavares out, Tibau in for Ultimate Fighter 9 finale

A change has been made to the upcoming The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale show as lightweight Thiago Tavares has been forced out of his fight against MelvinGuillard due to an arm injury. Stepping in to face Guillard on June 9 will be fellow American Top Team fighter, Gleison Tibau.

The change of opponents was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Monday by sources close to the fight.

With back-to-back wins in the UFC, Gleison Tibau will look to build upon his recent momentum with another short notice appearance, after his last fight and victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 18 in April.

Tibau, who makes a huge weight cut to make 155 pounds, will have more time for his June bout against Guillard than he did for his previous fight in which both fighters actually missed weight.

Guillard returns to action for the first time since July 2008 and a victory over Denis Siver at UFC 86. The former Ultimate Fighter Season 2 cast-member dealt with a few injuries, but is now looking to get back into action with his June fight against Tibau.

The ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter will culminate on June 9 with the main event for the show being former Season 1 winner, Diego Sanchez, against Clay Guida, in a lightweight contest.